Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

When school started five weeks ago, I challenged myself to create a schedule that would allow quality time with God before I began the work day. I knew that such a schedule would require waking up around 5:30 if I also wanted to walk in the mornings. YIKES! I am a night owl by nature. I enjoy staying up in the quiet of the night. I do some of my best thinking after ten p.m. Some of my best papers in college were written after midnight. Unfortunately, a 5:15 a.m. alarm doesn't allow for staying up too late.
Anyhow, as I have fallen into this routine, I have found that my energy level is up, and that I feel better throughout the day. I know this is due, in part, to my (almost) daily walks and eating breakfast. However, I also know that the large part of this is due to the time I spend with God each morning. This week, though, I've hit "the wall", in a way. It's getting chillier each morning, both of my former walking partners have moved on to other things, and it's getting more difficult to walk. I don't want to crawl out of bed when it's dark out. I want to sleep in, to enjoy that time between sleep and wakefulness a few more minutes. But, I hear that gentle whisper saying, "Come unto me." So, I begin the day anew (grumbling at times).
The other day, as I struggled against sleep to enter in to God's presence (after a brisk walk, shower, and coffee, nonetheless), an old hymn came to mind. I have the song on a hymns CD I purchased several years ago, and prior to that purchase, I don't think I had ever heard the song. I don't know the words to it well enough to sing with the CD, but the lyrics came to me as I fought to praise God through yawns. It's entitled "Praise to the Lord, The Almighty".

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

The King of creation

O, my soul, praise Him

For He is thy health and salvation

All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near

Praise Him in glad adoration

Praise to the Lord, Who o'er all things

So wonderfully reigneth

Shelters thee under His wings

Yea, so gladly sustaineth

Hast thou not seen how thy desires e'er have been

Granted in what He ordaineth

Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work

And defend thee

Surely His goodness and mercy here

Daily attend thee

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do

If with His love He befriend thee

Praise to the Lord, all that is in me

Adore Him

All that hath life and breath

Come now with praises before Him

Le the 'amen' sound from His people again

Gladly for aye we adore Him

Father, thank You for allowing me the privilege of coming to You in prayer and praise. You are my light and my salvation, the rock I can turn to in time of trouble; the shelter in the storm; the glorious One who is worthy of any praise I can muster. You are the One who gives me praise when all I want to do is sleep. Father, I pray that You would continue the work in me that You have ordained since the beginning of time. Continue to fan the flame of passion for Your word, for worship, and for eternity, within my heart.

The Glory

Sunday night, I had the opportunity to attend the kick-off of our high school youth group, Refuge.  Reign performed a twelve-song set (concert?), and I got to stick around to run the sound board.  One of the volunteers, Chris, gave a short devotional discussing the Transfiguration.  Here are my thoughts from that night, as they came to me at 10:30 pm.
Tonight, Chris taught out of Mark 9:2-8--the transfiguration of Christ.  A couple of things stand out to me.  One:  Peter, James, and John went to the mountain alone with Jesus.  They saw the view of the surrounding area; they relished their time alone with the Savior.  All of a sudden, He turns brilliant white, revealing the fullness of His glory to them.  What an experience--this man they called friend, teacher, and Messiah, has just shown them a glimpse of Who He really is...and Peter (gotta love Peter) gets caught up in seeing Moses and Elijah with Him.  Peter wants to pitch a tent and roast s'mores.  It's interesting, as well, that when the Father on the scene, that the cloud comes with Him.  How magnificient the Father's glory must be--the men had just seen Christ's glory revealed, but could not gaze on the Father.
Two:  This led me to think about Moses.  When he ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the commandments (the second time), he met with God.  He saw the Father's glory (Exodus 23:17-23).  The Word tells us that Moses asked to see God's glory and it was revealed to him while he hid in the cleft of the rock.  After receiving the commandments, Moses was forced to cover his face with a veil when speaking to the people.  Evidently, Moses' reflection of God's glory was too much for them to handle!  2 Corinthians 3:12-18 tells us that Moses veiled his face so the people would not see what was "coming to an end," that the glory was fading.  Paul goes on to say that we, when we turn to the Lord, have the veil removed, which brings freedom.  We are transformed "from one degree of glory to another."  The Holy Spirit brings us freedom to enjoy the glory of the Lord and to show His glory to those around us.
Wow!  What an awesome thought, that God's glory is so dense, so bright, so powerful that we cannot gaze upon it while we are here on earth.  That He would choose to shine through us, broken, soiled by sin, to reveal His glory to those around us. 
Father, I cannot fathom why You would choose to work in and through me, let alone to shine Your glory through me, so that others would see You.  Help me, each day, to become a better reflection of Who You are.  I fail so many times, I feel inadequate to be Your vessel.  Continue, Lord, to reveal Yourself to me, so that I may reflect You to the world.

It's Worth It

Today was the sixth full day of school.  And, it was the sixth day of meltdowns and attempts at escape--and not just by the teachers!
In all seriousness, we have about a half dozen students who would bolt from the building if it weren't for the staff (usually the principal) holding the doors shut.  We have about a dozen or so students with autism (or similar disorder on the autism spectrum).  I worked today with a student who can't write the alphabet (first grader), let alone the 30 key words we learned last year.  We have students who kick, bite, scratch, hit, cuss, threaten, and push.  One child will routinely state that s/he wants to kill him/herself.  Our paraprofessionals work in the hallways, the cafeteria serves as the gym, library, and auditorium.  The social worker shares a closet with the computer server and the library computer.  The music teacher has a desk in the hallway.  The special education teacher is in the old teacher's lounge, and the speech pathologist, occupational and physical therapists share a VERY small "room".  Budgets, staff, field trips have been cut.  Our buildings are old, much too small, and (in the case of two of the district buildings) prone to flooding. 
Why do we keep coming back day after day, year after year?  Why do we place ourselves in 95 degree buildings in August?  Why do we continue to seek out best practices and behavior modification techniques?  Why do we listen to parents swear up and down that "'Johnny' isn't like this at home..."?  Why do many of us shed gallons of tears for ten months out of the year?  Why do we wear calluses on our knees from hours of prayer?
The answer to this question is actually quite simple:  The kids deserve it.  These children may only feel loved the seven hours a day they are at school.  If I can show Christ's love to just one student, all the other is worh it.  If I can put a smile on just one face, it's worth it.  If I can show just one boy or girl that they matter, it's worth it. 

Father, thank You for the opportunity to be the light to this generation.  Forgive me for being selfish enough to think I deserve a "better" job.  Help me to show these kids that You love them.  Protect them, Lord.